So Good They Can’t Ignore You

By Andrew Chen | Blog

A couple weeks ago a friend of mine recommended the new book by Cal Newport, “So Good They Can’t Ignore You,” which argues that the best and most satisfying careers are those where your passion for the job emerges only after you’ve developed distinctive skills for it — because distinctive skills enable you to do that job with autonomy and impact, which are the only lasting sources of career satisfaction.

Adarsh (McKinsey to Rails developer)

By Andrew Chen | Interviews

“Part of job satisfaction is knowing that you’re doing a really good job.” – Adarsh Pandit, thoughtbot

Amy (journalism to video producer)

By Andrew Chen | Interviews

“I think one of the biggest keys to transitioning is just talking to mentors who have been there before.” – Amy Montalvo, ONEPASS Productions

Jason (sales to ridesharing startup)

By Andrew Chen | Interviews

Paul Graham was like, “This could be the Altair Basic.” – Jason Shen, Ridejoy

Tarun (doctor to strategy consultant)

By Andrew Chen | Interviews

“Just listening and communicating, even if it takes some extra time out of your day, is extraordinarily important.” – Tarun Mahajan, doctor and BCG consultant

Kevin (consulting to food startup)

By Andrew Chen | Interviews

“In a startup, there are many situations where you just don’t know what you’re supposed to do because you’ve never seen it before. But it’s also really exciting because you get experience you may never get in a traditional job.” – Kevin Yang, EAT Club